Organizers

Mike Marotta

Mike is a RESNA Certified Assistive Technology Professional who has been providing direct services to individuals with all disabilities for almost 30 years. Mike is the Director of the Richard West Assistive Technology Advocacy Center at Disability Rights New Jersey and he runs his own technology consulting firm, Inclusive Technology Solutions, LLC. As an evaluator, Mike works collaboratively with teams in all environments (school, workplace, and community) to effectively match the individual’s needs to technology supports.

Mike is a nationally and internationally recognized presenter who was previously a trainer for California State University at Northridge (CSUN), providing practical and in-depth training to professionals interested in specializing in assistive technology. In addition, Mike is an adjunct professor at California State University, Northridge (CA); Ramapo College of New Jersey (NJ); and Felician University (NJ) where he teaches courses for pre-service teachers and Masters level educators in Assistive Technology and Universal Design for Learning. Mike is also a member of the Faculty at the Center on Technology and Disabilities (http://www.ctdinstitute.org/) and presents on an array of topics. Mike is the Manager of Professional Development at Learning Ally and serves on the CAST Accessible Educational Materials Advisory Board.

Brian Friedlander

Dr. Friedlander is a school psychologist with expertise in the area of assistive technology. Dr. Friedlander has a passion for using all kinds of technology in his professional work. Dr. Friedlander has taught thousands of educators how to utilize the tools and methodologies of mind mapping to improve learning in the classroom. Dr. Friedlander is an Associate Professor of Education at the College of St. Elizabeth in Morristown, N.J. where he coordinates Graduate Programs in Special Education and teaches graduate courses in assistive technology. He maintains a consulting and private practice in the area of assistive technology working with schools and parents to find innovative solutions to support student learning. Dr. Friedlander consults to many school districts in N.J. and is available for workshops, training and presentations.

He is the author of: Assistive Technology: What Every Educators Needs to Know and maintains a blog at http://assistivetek.blogspot.com. Dr. Friedlander is the subject matter expert in a recently released DVD: Assistive Technology: Powerful Solutions for Success which is distributed by National Professional Resources, Inc. and recently co-authored IPad™: Enhancing Learning & Communication for Students with Special Needs a laminated reference guide which is also available from National Professional Resources, Inc.